A Public Service Gloat

Let us take this moment in time to make an important public service announcement...

Major lineup changes, a team meeting and a visit to the ballpark by The Boss. Nothing stopped the New York Yankees from sinking to the bottom of the AL East during a miserable road trip to Tampa Bay, which won three of four to dump the seven-time defending division champions into a tie for last place.

You know, the Democratic Party reminds me a lot of the Yankees. For example:

1. They both rode high in the 1990's and evoked nostalgia for their past triumphs. But it all came to an end in 2000 -- the Yankees won their last World Series despite winning only 87 regular season games, and Al Gore, despite a sunny economy, eked out a popular vote victory and lost the Electoral College.

2. In this decade, both institutions have failed miserably at their stated goals (the Democrats try to win elections, while the Yankees seek championships), typically failing in the fall.

3. Both have seen their problems in the state of Florida -- the Dems in November of 2000 and 2004, the Yankees in October of 2002.

4. Both experienced crushing failure in 2004 thanks to the state of Massachusetts (the Yankees at the hands of the Sox, the Democrats at the hands of their Flip-Flopping Ketchup King).

5. Lately, the Yankees have simply recycled tired old ballplayers (instead of relying on their once brilliant farm system), while the Democrats do the same thing by recycling tired old ideas for their platform (instead of developing and pushing new solutions, they simply defend the status quo).

Although I guess the Yankees have a much better chance of snapping out of their current funk that do the Democrats.

I'm wondering who will be more offended. Steinbrenner's a big-time Republican, and having his pride and joy compared to the Democratic Party would probably aggravate him to no end. But the Democrats may be more aggrieved by being compared to the ultimate example of capitalist greed, not to mention an organization that has the red, white and blue prominently displayed in its logo.